The New York Police Department (NYPD) is seriously looking into claims made in court by former officer Peter Liang and his partner that the reason both of them were not able to perform CPR on Akai Gurley was because they were not trained adequately by the department, according to an article published on capitalnewyork.com.
In a press conference held at the NYPD police headquarters Tuesday, Feb. 23, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, said "literally, within a half hour of that testimony being made, Internal Affairs launched their investigation," as he repeatedly stressed the importance of training new officers.
The commissioner said that the investigation has "become very extensive," adding that "we are reviewing, very intimately, everyone that was in their class."
"Under no circumstances will we tolerate any instructor in the New York City Police Department short-circuiting the process" of teaching cadets, or "the testing to validate the officer has the skills necessary to safely patrol the city," Bratton added.
In Nov. 2014, Gurley was shot as Liang and Shaun Landau were conducting their patrol in the Pink Houses in east New York. According to officials, the stairwell was dark because a light bulb was broken.
Liang and his partner, who were within the mandatory 24-month probation period for new hires, were conducting vertical patrols in one of the city's higher crime areas.
Liang admitted during the hearing that he had his weapon unholstered, and his finger on the trigger, when he was startled and accidentally fired his weapon. At that time, Gurley and his girlfriend had entered the stairwell one floor below.
According to the report, the two men did not utter any words before the bullet discharged from the gun, ricocheted, and struck Gurley in the chest.
A Brooklyn jury recently convicted Liang of manslaughter and official misconduct for not providing medical assistance to Gurley. Liang and Landau were both dismissed from service.
The report said that the claims made by Liang and Landau cast doubt on the quality of training at the NYPD, which plans to increase its ranks from 35,000 to more than 36,000.
Liang is scheduled to be sentenced next month, the report said.